Cramming for a (Running) Test

Remember that three month extension I gave myself in April to break 20 minutes? Neither do I. Instead of being disciplined and motivated, I let life's other commitments get in the way. If this sounds like I'm making excuses, it's because I am. Nonetheless, with one month to go until my July 22 race, I've started to cram in whatever serious training I safely can. A summary of my training runs over the past month:

May 22: (Treadmill) Three miles in 22:59: (8:30, 7:45, 7:14)

May 27: Four miles: 1/2 mile warm up, 7:24, 7:23, 7:27, 1/2 mile cool down

June 1: Three miles at a sluggish pace - not sure what happened, but I definitely wasn't feeling it that day

June 3: (Treadmill) Four miles in 29:14: (7:55, 7:33, 7:06, 6:40)

June 6: Five miles: 1/2 mile warm up, 7:32, 7:59, 7:42, 7:51, 1/2 mile cool down

June 8: Five miles: 1/2 mile warm up, 7:33, 7:07, 7:35, 7:31, 1/2 mile cool down

June 15: (Treadmill) Three miles in 22:53 (7:44, 7:14, 6:55)

June 18: (Treadmill) Two mile warm up, 3 x 800 meters (3:09, 3:05, 3:00) with 1/4 mile recovery jogs

June 20: 1/2 mile warm up, 7:24, 7:42, 8:12, 7:58, 8:35, 1/2 mile cool down

June 22: Four miles easy with some pick-ups

That six mile run on June 20 was the longest I've run in a while, and it felt like it. The speed wasn't there and finishing was a struggle. I also ran at 6:00 in the morning - a rarity - to beat the heat, which didn't help. But the plan now is to 1) be consistent; 2) add more distance runs (6 to 8 miles) and 3) lengthen my speed work (800 to 1600 meter intervals). Looking back on some of my past workouts, there probably wasn't any need to run 80 sec. 400 meter intervals. If anything, running too fast probably triggered some of my hamstring injuries. Hopefully this time around I'll get it right.